Healthcare crisis: not enough specialists for the poor

Los Angeles Time
The blurry vision began early last year. Roy Lawrence ignored it as long as he could. But after falling off a ladder at his construction job, he knew he had to see a doctor.  He went to a community health clinic in South Los Angeles, where doctors determined he had diabetes and cataracts. The clinic could manage his illness but referred him early this year to the county health system for eye surgery.  Nearly a year later, Lawrence, a Jamaican immigrant without insurance, still is waiting for the operation. His vision has deteriorated so much he is considered legally blind.  "I want to see again," he said. "I've been waiting a long time."  Lawrence, 49, and patients like him are posing a critical challenge for the planned overhaul of the nation's healthcare system. Federal officials are investing billions in community health centers like the To Help Everyone (T.H.E.) Clinic, where Lawrence's problem was diagnosed, with the hope that they can keep more patients out of high-cost emergency rooms. 
Full Article >

Gambling not only impacts adults, but kids too

Daily Comet
Gambling, an impulse control disorder, dates back to the dawn of civilization. Modern dice and card games can be traced to ancient times. Horse race betting dates back to the Roman Empire. Lotteries, which originated in Europe, were used to generate money for charities and public works in the U.S. since colonial days. Within the past decade, however, there has been a “gambling explosion” across North America. Today, some type of privately owned or government-sponsored gambling flourishes in 50 states and every Canadian province. While gambling generates obvious and important economic benefits, gambling is not without the real cost to society — not the least of which are problems associated with underage gambling.
Full Article >

Facebook System For Real Gambling Money Criticized

Social Barrel
Facebook subscribers in the UK can now use real gambling money on their pages. Facebook, the world’s largest social networking company, already provided gambling services on its website through a bingo application, but now it has added a new feature to gamble with real money. In collaboration with 888 Holdings, the new system allows players to gamble up to £500 in Facebook. The setup may result to a great deal of trouble if parents forget to close their Facebook accounts and their children can log in and play, said Mark Griffiths, Professor of Gambling Studies, Nottingham Trent University. He told the Telegraph through the Daily Mail, “You win virtually every time you play one of the free games.” He said the free games may lure many players but can rapidly turn into a big troublemaker.
Full Article >

More college students hooked on gambling

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Just weeks before Christmas 2005, Greg Hogan Jr. — president of his college class, gifted cello player and son of a respected minister — slipped a note to a terrified Lehigh County bank teller warning that he had a gun and demanding all her money. The unlikeliest of bank robbers, he couldn't imagine being caught, he said later. He was calm, cool and so matter-of-fact that he left the bank, hung out with friends, munched on pizza and sat through a screening of the "Chronicles of Narnia" as if nothing had happened. The reality came later that day when police slapped handcuffs on him as he was about to perform with his college orchestra. For Hogan, it was the end of a tortured journey from friendly dorm room poker games with buddies to the life of a compulsive gambler so addicted to online gambling that he sometimes spent more than 12 hours a day in front of his computer placing wagers.
Full Atricle >

Obama's Marijuana Comments Prompt Call For Official Policy From California Advocates

Huffington Post – San Francisco
President Barack Obama says he won't go after pot users in Colorado and Washington, two states that just legalized the drug for recreational use. But advocates argue the president said the same thing about medical marijuana – and yet U.S. attorneys continue to force the closure of dispensaries across the U.S. Welcome to the confusing and often conflicting policy on pot in the U.S., where medical marijuana is legal in many states, but it is increasingly difficult to grow, distribute or sell it. And at the federal level, at least officially, it is still an illegal drug everywhere. Obama's statement Friday provided little clarity in a world where marijuana is inching ever so carefully toward legitimacy.
Full Article >

Northbound Treatment Services Now Offers College Courses Alongside Addiction Treatment Program

Digital Journal (Press Release)
Northbound Treatment Services, the Southern California based addiction treatment facility and detox center, is offering college courses combined with addiction treatment through the Northbound Academy. This unique program is designed to give young adults the opportunity to start, continue or re-enter the collegiate environment while receiving addiction treatment at the same time. The Northbound Academy’s addiction treatment coupled with higher education program is highly successful and comes as good news to young adults seeking effective and creative rehabilitation processes with long term benefits.
Full Article >

California inspired -- and now inspired by -- other states' marijuana legalization measures

San Jose Mercury News
Many marijuana activists always thought California would be the first state to legalize the drug for recreational use, but their dreams faded in 2010 when the state's voters rejected Proposition 19. Yet the legalization measure's poor timing, lackluster funding and vague regulatory plan offered vital lessons that allowed activists in Colorado and Washington state to succeed last month where California had failed. Now activists in the Golden State are, in turn, scrutinizing those states' successful campaigns to prepare themselves for another California measure down the road.
Full Article >